San Jose’s 238th birthday party is Saturday, and as has become recent tradition. that will mean tours of two historic sites downtown, the Fallon House and Peralta Adobe.

Here’s your quick history lesson: El Pueblo de San Jos de Guadalupe was founded Nov. 29, 1777, as the first civil settlement in California, providing an agricultural base for the soldiers stationed a little farther north. San Jose’s status as the state’s first city was recognized when it was the first state capital following California’s admission to the United States.

The celebration, which will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, centers around the city’s Latino heritage, with folklorico dancing by Los Lupeos and an artisan mercado. There also will be plenty of family-friendly activities, too, like corn-husk doll making, candle dipping and face painting — plus a birthday cake and special recognition of San Jose’s earliest families. (Admission is free, but activity wristbands for kids are $5.)

For history buffs, it’s an opportunity to step back in time at the Peralta Adobe or the Fallon House. Others may just have some cake, enjoy the music and revel in the San Pedro Square Market. No matter how you celebrate, it’s a party worth attending.

HOLIDAY TALE WITH A TWIST: City Lights Theater Company in San Jose has a bilingual romantic comedy set during the Christmas holiday opening Saturday — but the language besides English for this show is Hebrew.

“Handle With Care” by Jason Odell Williams (with Hebrew by Charlotte Cohn) is about a an Israeli woman and an American man who meet in a Virginia hotel room on Christmas Eve under strange circumstances. Director Kit Wilder should be able to get some great onstage chemistry as the young couple is played by real-life couple Roneet Aliza Rahamim and Max Tachis.

City Lights is partnering with the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center of Silicon Valley, and guests from the JCC will gather at the theater on Dec. 10 to light Hanukkah candles on stage before the show. “Handle With Care” runs through Dec. 20. Tickets and more information are available at www.cltc.org.

TO PARIS, WITH LOVE: Tuesday night’s holiday tree lighting at Santana Row was packed — a little too packed by some accounts — with the crowds and various delays testing the crowd’s temper. Silicon Valley Ballet previewed it’s upcoming production of “The Nutcracker” and CMT San Jose provided a snippet of “The Little Mermaid” before the switch was flipped. But the most heartwarming moment belonged to Lili, a 14-year-old battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, who is going to have her dream of going to Paris granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Terrorists aren’t diminishing Lili’s love for the City of Light, and I’m sure she’ll be taking all of our good wishes with her.

Another nice tribute that conveys Silicon Valley’s feelings about the French capital could be seen in downtown San Jose over the weekend. Like many buildings in the Bay Area, the Axis condominiums changed its rooftop lighting scheme to the French flag’s red, white and blue.